John Tory says NO to releasing an update on the costs of the Scarborough subway. We say YES!

Release Scarborough subway costs before the October 2018 municipal election

Torontonians should know the costs of the Scarborough Subway Extension before casting a vote in the October 2018 municipal election.

Mayor Tory and Toronto Council

I am asking you to release the upcoming report on Scarborough subway costs before the October 2018 municipal election.

An update on the costs of the Scarborough Subway Extension is slated for September, and the public has a right to this information as soon as it is available. It is undemocratic to withhold it until January 2019.

Candidate's running in the October 2018 municipal election should be able to take a position on the Scarborough Subway Extension knowing the latest cost estimates and the public has a right to the latest information on costs before casting a vote.

Metrolinx and the city are holding an on line town hall on Finch East and Lawrence East GO/SmartTrack stations on Monday, June 18th from 7 – 8:00 p.m. To participate go tosmarttrack.to/townhallor call800.457.6180

Mayor Tory and members of the Executive Committee will be voting on a plan to eliminate four RT stations: Lawrence, Ellesmere, Midland and McCowan and replace them with one GO/Smart Track station at Lawrence East on Tuesday, April 17th at 9:30 a.m.

2018 Budget hearings are happening January 9 and 10

Watch STA’s Moya Beall speak up for the Eglinton East LRT at the budget hearings in Scarborough on January 8 here.

We submitted over 500 signatures in support of getting all the facts on the one-stop Scarborough subway “white elephant”.

Unfortunately, “fiscally-responsible” councillors will do anything to avoid the facts when a multi- billion dollar subway is at stake. On December 6, 2017, they voted 13 – 27 against conducting a value-for-money analysis.

ItemAU:10.7the 2018 Audit Work Plan should include a value-for-money analysis of the one-stop Scarborough Subway Extension.

City Auditor General Beverly Romeo-Beehler’s report on the TTC Briefing Note stated that LRT construction could begin in 2018, and that a value-for-money analysis may form part of a future audit. The AG has a mandate to assist “city council in holding itself and city administrators accountable for the quality of stewardship over public funds and for achievement of value for money in city operations.”

ON MARCH 28TH, THE CITY REJECTED THE REQUEST TO DO A SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON OF THE ONE STOP SUBWAY WITH THE SEVEN STOP SCARBOROUGH LRT.

In response, we sent a public sign-onletterto Premier Wynne and Minister Glen Murray to ask them to do the side-by-side comparison of the two projects so the public can get all the facts and a true comparison of our transit options can be made. The province is allowed to do this study when there is a “potential for a negative impact on a matter of provincial importance that relates to the natural environment.”

SCARBOROUGH RESIDENTS SPEAK UP ABOUT THE LRT OPTION AT STA’S AND SCARBOROUGH RESIDENTS UNITE PANEL DISCUSSION ON MONDAY, MARCH 27th

COUNCILLORS PAUL AINSLIE AND GLEN DE BAEREMAEKER TO DISCUSS TRANSIT OPTIONS FOR SCARBOROUGH

YOU’RE INVITED

Mayor Tory should scrap the $3.35 billion, one-stop subway extension to Scarborough Town Centre and build a twenty-four stop LRT network including the the seven-stop Scarborough LRT and the seventeen-stop Eglinton East LRT.

The vote on the one-stop Scarborough Subway Extension goes to Council on March 28th.

MORE FACTS ABOUT THE $3.35 BILLION, ONE-STOP SCARBOROUGH SUBWAY EXTENSION:

It’s not too late to scrap the one-stop subway. The decision-making process is only at the very early (5%) design stage.

Replacing the five-stop SRT with a one-stop subway extension will put more people on buses.

Ballooning costs of the one-stop subway ($2 billion to $3.35 billion) has eaten all the money for the seventeen-stop Eglinton East LRT.

Ridership projections for the one-stop keep dropping. Low ridership will drain money from the rest of the TTC.

If we move ahead with the shovel ready, seven-stop Scarborough LRT and the Eglinton East LRT now, there will be a connection to the provincially funded Sheppard East LRT. If we build a one-stop subway there will not.

THE SCARBOROUGH SUBWAY : A CAUTIONARY TALE

On February 28, the long-awaited Scarborough Subway Extension report was released and the findings were bad news for Scarborough transit riders. STA Co-Chair Brenda Thompson was there and asked Mayor Tory the tough questions:

Join us on Monday, March 13th when we tell the Mayor to do the right thing and build the seven-stop Scarborough LRT and eighteen-stop Eglinton East LRT instead.

TELL MAYOR TORY TO SCRAP THE ONE-STOP AND START BUILDING TRANSIT FOR TRANSIT RIDERS.

Join us at the Executive Committee meeting down at City Hall (100 Queen Street West) on Tuesday, March 7th @ 9:30 a.m. Register to speak to item EX23.1 at 416-392-4666 or send an email to the Executive Committee exc@toronto.ca

The Scarborough subway extension report has been DELAYED a second time.

STA has filed a complaint over the misleading briefing note that was used to sway Council’s July vote on the one-stop subway vs. 7-stop LRT.

We all know Mayor Tory and pro-subway councillors used this briefing note to push for the subway over a 24 – stop LRT network, so why won’t they admit they requested it? We are calling for an investigation of the process and for an independent, third-party review of the LRT option. Torontonians deserve to know the objective truth.

The Toronto Star has published an article about our complaint: Read it here.

2017 Budget: Bad News for Transit Riders

Brief points about impacts on the 2017 budget for Scarborough transit riders:

In July, City Council voted to cut the TTC budget by 2.6%. In order to meet the resulting budgetary shortfall, TTC fares are increasing for the 6th straight year in a row by 10 cents for tokens and metropasses starting January 2017.